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Pro-government soldiers patrol an area taken by government forces during recent clashes with southern separatists in Shabwa province, Yemen, August 26, 2019. /VCG Photo
Saudi Arabia called on southern Yemeni separatists on Thursday to cede control of Aden and voiced its support for the government, an indication that its rift with close ally United Arab Emirates had deepened.
In a statement carried by the state news agency SPA, the kingdom refused any “new reality” imposed by force in the south and added any attempt to destabilize Yemen's security would be a threat against the Kingdom and "will be dealt with decisively."
Saudi Arabia, leader of an Arab coalition battling Yemen's Iran-aligned rebels Houthis, is hosting indirect talks to resolve the crisis between the UAE-backed separatists and officials of the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which has opened a new front in Yemen's war.
The breakaway movement is part of the coalition that intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to try to restore Hadi’s government which was ousted from power by the Houthis in the capital Sanaa in late 2014.
But the separatists sought independence, turned on the government in early August and captured Aden, its interim base. Southern fighters have clashed with government forces elsewhere in the south as they tried to extend their reach.
UAE-trained fighters from the Southern Transitional Council (STC) gather at the al-Alam crossroads on the eastern entrance Aden in southern Yemen, August 30, 2019. /VCG Photo
Hadi's government has publicly asked the UAE to stop supporting separatist forces. Abu Dhabi has responded by criticizing his government as weak and ineffective.
The fight for Yemen's south threatens to further fragment the Arabian Peninsula nation and hamper United Nations efforts to end the conflict that has killed tens of thousands and pushed millions toward famine.
Saudi Arabia called on both sides to refocus on battling the Houthis, who hold Sanaa and most major urban centers. It has held indirect talks between STC leaders and Yemeni government officials for that purpose in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah this week.
U.N. special envoy Martin Griffiths tweeted on Thursday his support to the Jeddah talks.
Hadi's government has said it would not participate in a summit unless the STC hands back Aden.
The UAE in June scaled down its military presence in Yemen but maintains influence via tens of thousands of southern separatist fighters it has armed and trained.